Airport Access is Key to the E-Commerce Revolution

Demand for fast shipping and nimble logistics have made property near airports a valuable commodity. Tim Boreham, in the Sydney Morning Herald, explains how demand for property near airports is affecting the real estate markets in Sydney and Melbourne. He writes:

As industrial occupancy rates take off, city airports are playing host to leasing deals involving e-commerce tenants or those linked to the transport and logistics industries.

At Westmeadows, near Tullamarine Airport, international freight company Raw Global has landed at the Cargo Park business estate at 1 International Drive, joining other tenants including Gavos Freight Solutions, Extreme Freight, Wholesale Logistics and Royal Express Group.

David Zimmermann, a director of the site’s owner Warrington Property, said last-mile logistics companies had become “more and more prevalent” in leasing deals.

“One of the interesting things is tenants are relocating from NSW as it becomes more and more expensive,” Mr Zimmermann said. “For occupiers, space in Melbourne is costing about half of that in Sydney.”

Sydney’s southern industrial market near Mascot Airport has an “extremely low level of stock on market,” according to Colliers International.

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Finding and securing optimally located industrial space for “last mile” facilities in inner-ring suburbs would be a “major challenge” going forward, Colliers said.